Friday, August 24, 2007

Brigadeiro and beijinho are very popular types of candy served in parties here in Brazil - bicho-de-pé is a bit less usual, but equally adored.

They all start with a can of sweetened condensed milk - something we love around here. Many of our dessert/candy recipes call for it.

The difference is in the flavors: beijinho is made with coconut, brigadeiro is chocolatey and bicho-de-pé is (artificially) strawberry flavored.

After the candy is cooked and left to cool down, it is shaped into balls and rolled on some sort of coating (granulated sugar, desiccated coconut, chocolate sprinkles) and then placed into very small fluted paper cups (don’t mind the horrible photo, I made these for her birthday last year):Since I was making all the candy without any help - my sister/birthday girl/sous chef had another birthday party to go to that afternoon - I decided to spare some time and use an idea I'd seen in a couple of websites - to serve the candy inside small cups. I bought tiny plastic cups (15ml each), poured the candy while still hot inside them (before the mixture starts to firm up) and served with small wooden spoons.

Mix the condensed milk, butter and coconut in a saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring constantly – when the bottom of the pan starts to show and the mixture is a bit thicker, remove from heat and immediately pour the candy into the cups.After it’s completely cool, sprinkle with unsweetened desiccated coconut and decorate with a clove.If you want to shape the candy into balls, pour the mixture onto a greased plate and let it cool completely before using. Lightly coat your hands with butter, grab small portions of candy and roll into balls. Roll them in unsweetened desiccated coconut or granulated sugar and place in small fluted paper cups. Decorate each ball with a clove.

Mix the condensed milk, butter and cocoa powder in a saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring constantly – when the bottom of the pan starts to show and the mixture is a bit thicker, remove from heat and immediately pour the candy into the cups.After it’s completely cool, sprinkle with chocolate sprinkles.If you want to shape the candy into balls, pour the mixture onto a greased plate and let it cool completely before using. Lightly coat your hands with butter, grab small portions of candy and roll into balls. Roll them in chocolate sprinkles and place in small fluted paper cups.

Mix the condensed milk, butter and gelatin in a saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring constantly – when the bottom of the pan starts to show and the mixture is a bit thicker, remove from heat and immediately pour the candy into the cups.After it’s completely cool, sprinkle with granulated sugar – I preferred to use a tiny piece of strawberry.If you want to shape the candy into balls, pour the mixture onto a greased plate and let it cool completely before using. Lightly coat your hands with butter, grab small portions of candy and roll into balls. Roll them in granulated sugar and place in small fluted paper cups.

It must be a Caribbean thing - we do love condensed milk too :) The sweet treats are very intersting and sounds really easy to make. Have bookmarked to page to reference when I need to make a quick but fancy looking dessert.

My Mom was just telling me about a dessert made with sweetened condensed milk, she said it was whipped with lemon. I wasn't sure that it would work, but your recipes don't contain many ingredients either, so maybe it would work after all.

I´m going to look for sweet condensed milk. Can I make my own? I´m not sure I can find it at my local store.

I saw a Swedish recipe, you know: Whip 1 ½ dl cream and 120 g powder milk in a saucepan. Heat it up, add 3 ½ dl sugar and heat until sugar is completely dissolved. What do you think about this recipe? Will that "sweetened condensed milk" work as well?

Bummer, i can´t believe i missed these after visiting Brazil thrice!!! But i did enjoy some sweetened condensed milk poured over fruit salad on a pineapple on the beach with a straw...oh yes! So not everything is lost, i´ll just have to arrange a new trip soon ;)

Lydia, they were a huge success at Jessica's birthday party, people loved them!

KJ, I feel the same way about your blog, sweetie.

Cynthia, what's not to love? It's good even pure, out of the can. Fattening as hell, but so delicious! :)

Bri, I made one lime meringue pie once and the filling was just lime juice, zest, sweetened condensed milk and cream. It tasted so wonderful that my sister and I almost ate it all before pouring into the crust!

Nic, thank you!

Valentina, it's delicious, isn't it?

Susan, I do know! You like all the wonderful food and delicious sweets. :)

Ellie, I'd love to see your take on them!

Karin, I'll search for a good recipe and translate it for you, ok?

Deb, how lovely! I'm gonna be curious now, I want to make candy for Xmas, too!

Kelly-Jane, I had one of each and must confess I wanted more. :)

Marce, really? We do add sweetened condensed milk to so many things. Next time you are here, let me know!

Pea, they are really, really sweet - like most Brazilian desserts!

Anh, I did not know that - they know good things, I can tell! :)

Abby, I absolutely adore mini food!

Lia, tks! You should try the strawberry one, it's heavenly too!

Sophie, tks for visiting! And I totally relate to what you are saying - I really enjoy "cleaning" up the can after pouring the condensed milk into the recipe. :)

Truffle, Brazilians are crazy for brigadeiro. :)

Janet, there's one type of coffee served here that is sweetened with condensed milk - I don't drink coffee, but I can tell it's waaaaay too sweet just by looking at it.

Great idea to make it in cups.As the girls are 'growing up'they might feel that it is a bit more grown up to have the sweets this way. I just love the way we present our lovely party cakes in Brazil. Presentation is such an important thing.

Oh wow, I want some! Candy made with condensed milk? That's like a dream. I could eat condensed milk straight from the can, with or without boiling it into toffee. I've never had anything like this though, but the addition of cocoa powder and dessicated coconut sounds perfect.

I'm so glad to have found your blog. My fiance, an Argentine, was born and raised in Brazil, and between the two cultures, he's fanatically in love with anything built upon a base of sweetened condensed milk. I can tell I'll be returning often to get ideas of treats I can make for him.